Filling fork grate



NOV. 21, 1944. Q M, HANCOCK FFFFFFFFFFFFFF TE NNNNNNNN QUI NOV M. HANCOCK ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 21, .1944

FILLING FORK GRATE Quincy M. Hancock, Atlanta, Ga., assignor to Draper corporatiomvflopedale, Mass., a corporation of Maine A plication February 9, 1944, Serial No. 521,595

- 1 Claim.

The present invention relates generally to filling detectors for automatic looms and, as illustrated herein, relates more particularly to means for preventing abnormally slack filling from getting beneath and in front of the filling fork.

It oftentimes happens that, upon the completion of the laying of a pick, more filling unwinds from the filling carrier or bobbins than is necessary. Thus an abnormally slack filling condition will obtain between the selvageof the cloth and the shuttle. The slack condition frequently permits the filling to get beneath the filling fork and detecting action of the fork will cause undesired stopping of the loom or the filling may break andthe loom stopped" on a subsequent pick. In either event, productionof the loom is interfered with.

One object of the present invention is to pro- I vide improved means whereby the above mentioned objectionable conditions are avoided. To this end and, as illustrated, the present inven-.

tion contemplates the use of a filling fork grate having a finger extending forwardly therefrom substantially above the floor of the filling fork recess in the lay', saidfinger being provided also 5,.

with an' upturned portion at its forward end to support the filling and to prevent it from falling downwardly in front of the lay and thus be positioned beneath the'filling fork,

With the above and other objects and features in View, the invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawing in which: I

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of ,aportion of a loom in' which a preferred form of the-invention is embodied;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken alongthe line- II-II of Fig. 1;.and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the filling fork grate embodying thepresentinvention.

The illustrated construction includes a lay l and a shuttle box l2 at one end of the lay. The detector mechanism includes a filling fork l4 plvotally mounted to'swing on a pivot IS on a fork slide I8 which is supported on the breast beam (not shown) of the loom. The lay I 0 is provided witha transverse recess into which the filling fork l4 passes upon beat-up of the lay. The lay is also provided with'a grid 22 which cooperates with the filling fork M in the usual manner. I

When the filling is carried by the shuttle 24 through the shed 26, it extends acrossthe recess 20 in front of the grid 22 to the shuttle 24 in the shuttle box l2. fillingF extending in front of the grid 22 engages the filling fork l4 and tilts thefork l4 about its When the lay heats up, the

ally to stop the loom. When the thread F is so slack that it lies beneath the filling l4, itis apparent that undesired stopping of the loom occurs.

' The grid 22 is provided with means for preventing an abnormally slack. filling thread from falling beneath the filling fork [4. To this end, afinger 28 is formed as a part of the fork grate 22 and extends forwardly above thefioorof the pivot l6. When the filling F breaks, the fork' l4 will not be tilted and such failure is utilized usurecess 20 and terminates forwardly of the front edge of the lay Ill. The forward end of the finger 28, is inclined upwardly and forwardly at 30 to prevent the abnormally slack filling from sliding off of the finger and. out of reach of the filling fork l4. As shown best in Fig. 2, the slack filling F is supported in the recess 20 by the finger 28 and by the opposite edges of the recess.

The filling thread is thus retained within the zone of operation of the filling fork I4 and undesired and unnecessary slopping of the loom from this source is effectively eliminated.

The present invention effectively insures the proper functioning of the filling fork l4 and the stopping mechanism associated therewith. The forwardly inclined forward end 30 of the finger 28 extends well forwardly of the lay and prevents the slack filling thread from dropping to a position where the fork will pass over it and permitthe filling to get in front of the fork. The present invention may readily be applied to present looms by removing the usual filling fork grate and substituting therefor'the present grate 22 and securing the same in position on the lay byj a screw 32.

'While the invention has been shown as applied only to the left hand end of a lay, it is apparent that the device can also be applied to the other end of the lay if so desired.

,Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States is:

'In an automatic loom, a lay having a trans- Verse filling fork recess, a filling fork entering said recess and arranged to-be tilted by engagement with therunning filling extended across said recess, a filling fork grate fixed to the lay behind said recess and having a plurality of vertical extending bars defining openings for receiving said fork, and a finger fixed to the lower end of one of said bars and extending forwardly above the floor of said recess and terminating forwardly of. said lay to support slack filling extending across said recess in position to be engaged by the filling fork during the forward beat of the lay, said finger at its forward end being turned upwardly and forwardly to prevent the filling from falling off of said finger and below said fork.

QUINCY M. HANCOCK. 

